Community rallies to save elementary overnight field trips

Community member Beth Lewis addressed the Hot Springs County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees during their Oct. 19 meeting about alternatives to cancelling elementary overnight field trips.

The district is planning to phase out these field trips due to safety concerns that have presented themselves from incidents that have occurred on such trips in the past. Lewis said, “Field trips bring the classroom to life and build lasting memories while developing connections within student cohorts … We live in a community where the experiences offered by overnight trips are difficult to replicate in a day-trip setting, and I believe it’s important to think of solutions to improve the safety of students on extended field trips instead of just cancelling them.”

Lewis offered potential solutions that she and other parents came up with when they met to discuss the topic. She said that many parents were willing to chaperone such trips to provide more supervision, and gave suggestions to raise funds and to cut costs of the trips with alternative sleeping arrangements like bringing sleeping bags.

Board members expressed interest in trying to keep the elementary school overnight field trips, and indicated that future conversations would be held regarding the fate of the field trips. They agreed that if it was deemed logistically feasible, they would work with school staff to try and keep the field trips.

Also during public comment, elementary science teacher Jennifer Weber relayed to the board her intent to retire after 28 years at Hot Springs County School District No. 1. Weber stated that she would be relocating to southern Wyoming to be closer to family. She thanked the board and her peers for their support over the years.

NEW BUSINESS

The school district’s 2023-2024 strategic plan was approved. This document outlines the goals of the district.

The annual staff appreciation gifts were approved. The district will purchase $30 in ‘chamber bucks’ for each staff to use at local businesses.

The Early Notification of Resignation/Retirement reward program was approved to install for this school year. This program incentivizes staff to inform the district of their intent to leave as early as possible so that the district has time to seek replacements. The reward tiers are as follows:

If notified by Nov. 1, $5,000 for tenured certified staff and $2,500 for non-tenured staff.

If notified by Jan. 1, $2,000 for tenured certified staff and $1,000 for non-tenured staff.

If notified by March 1, $1,000 for tenured certified staff and $500 for non-tenured staff.

SUPERINTENDENT EVALUATION

The board convened to closed executive session to discuss personnel and the superintendent evaluation. After exiting, chairman Sherman Skelton made the unprecedented decision to openly discuss the results of the evaluation, which Superintendent Dustin Hunt agreed. Skelton said, “It shows a collective agreement on where we stand in support of the superintendent.”

The evaluation is broken into seven standards, graded on a scale from “Below Standard (1)” to “Advanced (4)”. The standards and scores are as follows:

Clear and consistent focus on maximizing the learning/growth of all students – Advanced (4)

Developing and supporting a learning organization – Meeting (3)

Vision, mission and culture – Meeting (3)

Efficient and effective management - Meeting (3)

Ethics and professionalism – Advanced (4)

Communication and community engagement – Advanced (4)

In other business, Joe Martinez was nominated as the board’s voting delegate to the Wyoming School Board Association convention.